I Will Always Keep My Promises
by Minato Kota
Summary: Ino met her childhood friend, without knowing that her friend already turned into one of the dark creatures. When she knew about this, she started to teach him about how to be a man again.
1. Chapter 1 : Childhood Friend

"Wait up, Sasuke-kun!" said Ino. She ran and tried to reach him, but she's too late. A pink haired girl took his right arm and said, "Trying to steal him again from me, Ino-pig? You better give up, because I'll never let you to have him."

Ino pouted. "Oh, you again. Why you always show up around Sasuke?"

The pink haired smiled. "Because he is mine, you idiot. He will always be mine."

* * *

The next day, when Ino was walking to school, someone ran into her. She lost her balance and fell. "Ouch, sorry," said the boy. He lent his right hand to help her stand up. She reached his and stood. "Thanks."

"Are you ok?" he asked. Ino nodded. "I'm alright."

They began to walk side to side. "Where are you going, if I may ask?" asked Ino.

"School."

"Oh, me too. I'm going to Konoha High School."

"Oh?"

"Huh? What's wrong?"

"Nothing. We're going to the same school, then."

"Really? Are you new?"

The boy nodded. "Yes, I am."

Ino smiled. "Where are you from?" The boy frowned. Actually, he is not a ninja. He is an evil creature who came to destroy one thing, the Ball of Light. The ball has a very strong power, and it will destroy the dark creatures. The dark master asked him to destroy the ball, so the dark creatures won't disappear. That ball was hidden in the Konoha village, and he need to find it. He can't say to the girl that he came to destroy the ball, can he? But what should he say to her?

"Uhh, none of your business." He answered coldly. Ino began confused of his sudden mood swing. They walked side to side silently.

"I'm Ino, by the way," said Ino to the boy.

"Noel." Said the boy.

"What?"

"Noel,"

"Only Noel?"

The boy frowned. "Noel Shibasaki."

Ino's eyes widened. "I think I do know you."

"Huh?"

"You are my best friend when we're small."

Suddenly he remembered. He remembered everything that happened to him.

* * *

_Flash back_

_"Noel, wait up!"_

_"No, please don't chase after me again!" cried the boy_

_She ran into him and knock him down. "I got you again, Noel!" the blond laughed. Suddenly the boy put an insect on the girl's hair. "Aaaah!" screamed the girl. "Noel, you naughty boy!" _

_…._

_A few days later, on the night, they went to the park together. They watched the night sky, the stars. "Ino..." said the boy. The girl looked at the boy. "Yes, Noel?" _

_"I will always protect you and I will die for you if it needed. I promise." _

_Ino smiled to him. "I knew you will protect me, Noel. You are my best friend."_

_. - . - ._

_"Goodbye, Noel. I don't want to go, but I have to," said Ino. The boy watched the girl went to another place to be a ninja. _

_A few days later, he met a big scary boy. He put a knife in front of the boy's neck and said, "Die or Follow me." Noel was very scared, and he followed the boy into a hole on the wall. When he entered the hole, his head was really hurt. The only thing he remembered when he woke was that he is an evil creature and his weapon is his eye, which has the Devil's Eye. _

_End of Flashback_

* * *

He is not an evil creature from the beginning. He'd been a normal person before. He will learn everything from the beginning again and be a normal person again, he promised himself.

"Do you remember Noel?" asked Ino. The boy nodded. "I do."

-/-

"Who is he?"

"Wow, he looks good."

The girls in the class began to gossip around when they saw Ino walked in with Noel.

"Ino!" called Sakura. "Ino-pig! Come here!"

"I will be back," whispered Ino to Noel. Noel nodded and took a seat. Ino ran to Sakura.

"What is it Sakura-chan?"

"Who is that boy?"

Ino turn to where she's pointed to. "Oh, him? He is Noel Shibasaki. He is my childhood friend."

"Oh. Where is he from?"

"Umm, London. But his dad is from Japan."

"Wow, that's... nice."

The bell rang. Ino ran to her seat, which is next to Noel. Kurenai-sensei entered the class. "Good morning kids. Today we get a new friend. Can you please come here, boy?" she looked at Noel. Noel stood up and walked to the front of the class.

"He is Noel Shibasaki. Please be nice to him." Said Kurenai-sensei.

...

It was break time. A lot of girls started to flirt Noel, but he wasn't seem interested with those girls and walked away.

"Noel! Noel, over here!" shout Ino. Noel turned and look at her. He immediately went to her table and sit next to her. Suddenly a dark haired girl came to their table.

"Oh, Hinata-chan. Come here, sit with us." Said Ino. The dark haired girl smiled and sit on the other side of the table.

"She is Hyuga Hinata, my friend," said Ino to Noel. He nodded. "Hi, I'm Noel."

Hinata smiled to him and said, "Nice to meet you."

"Yeah, same here," replied Noel.

They ate silently until Sakura came. "Hey Ino-pig, Hinata-chan, Noel-san," she said.

"Shibasaki."

"Huh?"

"Don't call me Noel. Call me Shibasaki."

"Oh, okay. But why?" the pink haired girl asked curiously.

"I don't know. I just feel like it. It's an exception, only for you."

"Excuse me? Exception? You mean the others can call you Noel?"

Noel nodded. "Yes, that's right. The others can call me Noel, but you must call me Shibasaki."

"Why I must call you by your family name?"

"Oh, what, you don't like it? You can call me 'Your Highness' if you want to, you know." He said. The pink haired began to blush. "And why I must call you 'Your Highness'?" she asked.

Noel laughed under his breath. "Oh, stop complaining. Just do what I said."

Sakura stared at Ino. "I think I have to talk to you privately Ino," she said. Ino nodded and stood up. "I'll be back. Be nice to Hinata," she said. With that, she left Noel and Hinata alone.

…

"Why is he so rude?" ask Sakura. "Well, he's not rude to me. I don't know, maybe he changed? You know, everyone changed." Replied Ino. Sakura pouted. Suddenly Kakashi-sensei entered the room.

"Attention please!" he shouted. "The dark creatures are coming to our village. We need you to fight with us. Don't let them steal the Ball of Light!"

Noel's eyes widened when he heard this. 'Man, what are they doing? They already sent me, no need to attack the village. Oh shit, what I supposed to do?' he thought.

"Noel!" said Ino nearly scream. "Come with me!"

Noel ran and followed Ino into the school's cellar. Ino knocked a door. "It's Yamanaka Ino! The dark creatures are attacking the village! We need to take the ball to the other place!" she said with a trembling voice. The door opened suddenly. They walked in.

Noel's body suddenly jerked up. It's the Ball of Light, waited in front of him. Before he reached it, Ino touched the ball. The ball shined and disappeared. "Where did it go?" ask Noel.

"It's inside of me. If they want to steal the ball, they must kill me first." Replied Ino.

"What? They need to... kill you? Why?"

"Because if you already put it inside your body, there's no way to take it out but kill the person."

"But why you must put it inside your body? Why not the others? I mean, the stronger one?"

Ino shook her head. "If you put it inside the strong one, the dark creatures will run after you. But they won't predict that the weaker one will take it. That's why."

Noel stared at Ino blankly. "Well, what do we have to do now?"

Ino sighed. "We have to run away from them."


	2. Chapter 2 : Promises

"Wait, we have to stop. I need some rest," said Ino. She's panting hardly. Noel watched her silently. 'I need to take the ball, but how? I don't want to kill her, not yet. Besides... she is my best friend before. What I supposed to do?' he thought.

"I need some sleep. We can sleep here," said Ino, pointing a big tree. Noel nodded. He's tired too, and he needs some rest. They started to laid down on top of one big branch.

"Noel, I'm cold," said Ino. Noel watched her shivered. "Noel, please... I need your help, please," she said with trembling voice. "Please," she said again, nearly cry.

Noel reached his hand and touched hers. 'Wow, her hands are cold. What should I do?' he thought. He felt her hands squeezed his. 'I could hug her if she wanted to...' he thought again.

"Ino..." he said. "Come closer."

Ino moved her body and move closer to him. Now their bodies touched each other. He slowly hugged her, breathing on her forehead. However, he is a dark creature. His body could not feel the cold anymore. With that, they slept.

…

"Ino, we have to move up," said Noel. Ino nodded. "Yes, we can't waste our time. Let's go."

They ran through the woods again. After that, they crossed a big river and ran into the other forest. They kept running until night.

"We have to rest again," said Ino. Suddenly Noel shook his head. "No, they're running after us. They're pretty close."

Ino's eyes widened. "How do you know that?"

His body jerked up. 'Shit, how can he forgot that she hasn't know about his true identity? He can't say that he could feel them, could he?'

"Noel?"

"Someone's coming," he said suddenly. With that, some of the dark creatures showed up.

"Well, well, well, if it wasn't Noel Shibasaki, the traitor," said one of them. "Why don't you kill her already, hmm? She's in front of you for these two days, and you got her slept in your arms before, but why, why you don't kill her?"

Ino started to freak out. 'What did that mean? Why are they asking him about killing her? And why did they said that he's the traitor? How can they knew about his name?' she thought.

"Come back to us, Noel, don't be a traitor," the other said.

"What do you mean, come back to you? He's not yours!" Ino shouted.

The dark creatures laughed except Noel. "You don't know, little clumsy girl? He's one of us, and we're confused how can you feel so comfortable sleeping in his arms last night," the leader said. Ino's eyes widened. She turned to Noel. He refused to look at her.

"Why?" asked Ino. "Noel, why? Why are you team up with them?"

"Well then, seems like Noel can't kill her. I think we have to kill her now?" asked one of the creatures. The leader nodded.

"No, don't!" shouted Noel suddenly.

"Oh? And why is it?" asked the leader.

"I won't let you kill her, no matter what!" he shouted. He attacked the other creatures with his Devil's Eye, made them broken into pieces. Dark blood squirted everywhere. Ino looked at him with fear in her eyes.

He turned around and face her. "Ino, I... will keep my promises. I will protect you with all of my ruined life. I will... die for you."

Ino watched him walked to her. "Ino..." he said again. "Do you trust me?"

Ino nodded. "I do, Noel. I always do."

Noel smiled. He really felt guilty. He didn't trust her that they will meet again one day before, before he joined the dark creatures. But when he knew that she'd always trusted him, even when she knew that he is one of the dark creatures, he really appreciate it.

"Thanks," he whispered. Ino hugged him. "You are my best friend, even when we're apart from each other. And I've always loved you, and I always see you more than my friend." She replied.

She held the back of his neck and kissed him on his lips. He started to kiss her back, and held her in his arms once again that night.


	3. Chapter 3 : Trusted

"Ino, we have to go now," said Noel. Ino rubbed her eyes and nodded. They quickly had their breakfast and ran through the forest again. Suddenly, they bumped into Kakashi and Hinata.

"Kakashi-sensei!" said Ino. "Hinata-chan!"

Kakashi shook his head. "We'd found the dark creatures' blood all over the last forest, so we decided to keep going. There must be a light creature who destroyed them, because ninjas cannot break them into pieces," he said. Ino looked over at Noel.

"Noel, I have to..."

"Yes, come over here," he said quickly. Ino followed him to the top of a tree.

"Noel, Kakashi-sensei said that the light creatures..."

"No, I'm not a light creature."

"But..."

"He had no idea that the dark creatures also can kill their partner, that's it. They knew that only the Light Creatures and the Dark one can destroy them into pieces. And I'm the dark one."

"How can you be so sure about that?"

"Because I am Dark Creature. I am."

Kakashi and Hinata ran back to Konoha, but Ino and Noel were going to Suna, the Hidden Sand Village. Kakashi told them to not going back to Konoha until they're sure that the dark creatures already destroyed. Ino can't say anything about Noel's true identity because he told her to not tell anyone about it. But she can't let the ninjas hunter down Noel too, so she got no choice but keep it secretly.

Ino and Noel reached Suna at night, and they stayed there that night.

=.=

'Knock knock', someone knocked the door.

"Come in," said Ino. The door opened and the person who knocked the door came in.

"Noel? What are you doing?"

"We don't have much time, Ino. The dark creatures are hunting us down, and if we stayed here any longer, we'll put this village in danger. We have to go."

Ino nodded. "Can't we stay here for breakfast?"

"Umm, sure. Just for breakfast, but after that, we should keep going."

"Okay."

They had their breakfast and ran through a desert. They reached another big forest at night and decided to have some rest first.

Noel put his arm around Ino as usual. In a few minutes, Ino fell asleep.

"_Noel, why you keep wasting time?" asked the Master of the dark creatures inside his head. "You knew what to do, but you keep refused to kill her. Why?"_

"_I do not want to kill her, sire. I think I... loved her," Replied Noel inside his head. _

_The Master laughed. "Noel, your cold heart cannot feel love anymore. There's no need to try or learn about it once more," he said. _

"_But sire, you lied. You said that I'm a dark creature from the beginning, but actually, I'm not. I've been a human before."_

"_Well, of course I did. I don't want you to try to go back into a human again, because if you do, you need to find what true love is."_

"_True love?"_

"_Yes, and that's impossible. Dark creatures can't feel love anymore. Their heart is cold and will never be warm again. Never. It's useless, Noel."_

"_Then if you knew I won't be a human again, why do you need to lie?"_

_The Master laughed again. "Because I don't want any traitors."_

Suddenly his head began to spin, his view began to blur. He got a really bad headache, which almost made him scream.

"_Please stop, Master. It really hurts."_

His headache deepened, he really can't hold this back any longer. His Devil's Eye activated suddenly, his slender fingers changed into sharp knifes.

"_No, don't..."_

His teeth began to being sharp. His body tightened.

"_No, please not right now, not now..."_

The inside of his body started to burned. He immediately pushed Ino out of his range. Ino awoke and watched him with fear in her eyes. "Noel, what..."

He can't take this anymore, he can't hold this pain anymore. He needed to let it out of him, but Ino was right there, right in front of him. If he lost his control, he might hurt her, or even worse, kill her. "Ino, run," he whispered.

But she didn't listen to him. She just stared at him, with pity in her eyes.

"Noel, you wanted to kill me," she said with trembling voice.

Suddenly his heart felt really cold. That 'kill' word of her made him hurt, made him felt guilty. "Ino, I can't hold this any longer. I don't want you to get hurt..."

"Noel, even if I ran, you would chase me and kill me. There's no use. If you really can't hold it anymore, just kill me right now."

His eyes widened in surprise. "Ino, if I killed you and destroyed the Ball of Light, the world will filled with Dark Creatures, and they will killed the good people. Don't you know, that the future is in your hand? If you gave up, the world will crushed and filled with crime."

Ino nodded. Tears streaming down her cheeks. "I knew, I knew that I'm the most idiot person in the world who wanted to save the world with a dark creature beside me and... and kept trusting him even when I knew that... he would kill me anytime. I even gave up to save the world and stayed beside him, waiting him to kill me. I knew it, Noel..."

She cried, waiting for him to kill her. She knew that she's way too weak to fight him, so she will let him kill her easily.

Her words started to hurt him. "Ino, when we're younger, I promised you that I will protect you with my life, and I'm not going to take those words back."

Ino looked up. "But it's painful for you," she whispered.

"I don't care. It's my pleasure to have your trust, I really appreciate it."

With that, he bit his own lips, made them bled. He pressed his sharp knifes fingers into his palms. It bled too, but he didn't seem to care. He closed his eyes, and let the headache burned his head.

"_Noel, what are you doing? Kill her!" shouted the Master inside his head. _

"_I'm so sorry sire, but I can't kill her. I do love her, and I will never kill her." _


	4. Chapter 4 : Why I Loved Her

"Noel, wake up..."

Noel opened his eyes. His head still felt dizzy, but he ignored it. He switch off his Devil's Eye and his other scary things, then looked at Ino.

"Ino, what happened?" he asked.

"You hurt yourself too much. You passed out," replied Ino. Noel nodded. "You didn't hurt, right?" he asked. Ino shook her head. "No, I'm alright."

=.=

They ran again until night, and sleep on the top of a tree.

Noel woke up when he felt someone just hit his leg. "Hmm?"

"Wake up, sleepyhead! What are you doing with her?" asked a boy. Noel looked at him and noticed that he is a friend of Ino. "Oh, nothing. We just rest, you know." He replied.

"No, I mean why did she slept in your arms?" asked the boy again.

Noel let go of Ino immediately. He stared at the other boy with a dark long hair. The dark haired boy stared back at him. Suddenly, the dark haired activated his byakugan. Neji started confused with what he saw. He actually saw nothing in the blond haired boy.

"You don't have any chakra," he said. The blond boy stared at him again.

"Excuse me?" said Noel.

"You don't have any chakra, but you can kill enemies. How? I didn't see any weapons."

Noel stared at him more. 'This guy had a point. What should I do?' he thought. "Well, it's none of your business," he said.

'Huh, he's trying to avoid this conversation? I won't let him out then,' thought the long haired. "Then, you must have something special, right?"

Noel laughed under his breath. 'This guy is smart. He won't let me pass so easily,' he said to himself. "If you really want to know, then it's a yes," he replied.

The long haired frowned. 'What is he planning to do? Lie to me?' he thought. "What is it?" he asked.

"It was my ability. Every time I throw weapons, it won't miss the target. But we're ran out of weapons, so we're trying to run peacefully at night and sleep at the morning," replied Noel.

Suddenly Ino woke up. "Shikamaru, Neji, what are you doing here?" she asked.

"Ino, are you ok? He didn't hurt you, right?" Shikamaru asked Ino back. The long haired boy, Neji, glared at Noel.

"Of course she's ok. She's with me," said Noel. Ino nodded. "Yes, I'm okay. Now, please excuse us, because we have a lot of things to do."

Shikamaru glanced at Noel. "Well, I think you would be safer in my protection," he said.

"Why? Noel is pretty strong," replied Ino.

"Ino, we've been friends for 8 years! Of course you are much safer in my protection. I won't hurt you," said Shikamaru rather annoyed.

"But Noel is my best friend too! He is strong and I trust him more than anyone! I'm sure I would be safe under his protection," said Ino irritably.

* * *

_Ino's PV_

_I don't understand why Shikamaru doesn't trust Noel. It's not like Noel want to kill me or hurt me... Well, Noel is dangerous, I know. But he held back before, so I'm sure he will hold back in another time._

_Shikamaru's PV_

_Why is she trusts that blond boy more than anyone? Wait, more than anyone? More than me? How dare she said that! What is so special with that blondie? He's handsome, yes, attractive, maybe, and then what? He looks dangerous. _

_Neji's PV_

_Noel Shibasaki... I think I knew him. He lied to me before, I knew he lied. Those eyes look dangerous. Is he one of the dark creatures? Those face covered with hunger, and I'm afraid he would hurt Ino. _

_Noel's PV_

_They might be right. I'm too dangerous for Ino. I'm afraid that I can't hold back next time. I don't want to hurt Ino at all, but I appreciate that she still trusts me. But it just wrong, so wrong. I shouldn't let her trust me from the beginning. How can I refuse her? _

* * *

"Maybe he's right, Ino. You would be safer under your other friend protection. I will go home and leave it to them," said Noel.

"What? Wait, you can't just leave like that! You're my protector right now, my guardian! Please don't leave me, I beg you, please!" said Ino.

Noel stood up. "I will leave tomorrow then. We can run again right now," he said.

"No, don't leave me! Don't leave me like that! Don't!" cried Ino.

"Shh, it is okay, Ino. You will be safe," said Shikamaru. With that, they ran across the woods until night.

Ino slept in Shikamaru's arm, Neji on his right and Noel on his left. When Neji nearly fell asleep, he saw Noel walked away. He followed Noel to the riverbank. He watched Noel sat on a rock and held his head. 'What is he doing?' asked Neji to himself.

* * *

_In Noel's Head_

'_Kill her already, idiot!' said the Dark Master. _

'_I can't, sire, I just can't. I told you, I loved her. I loved her more than anything.'_

'_You baka, you loved her, but you don't even know who is the most precious person to her?'_

'_She... she loved that Shikamaru. He's her most precious person,' replied Noel._

'_That's right, my dear. So why you keep loving her?'_

'_Because I wasn't meant to be her spouse, but I meant to protect her with my life.'_

_So you've feel love again, Noel. I'm afraid you won't be one of my creatures anymore, said the Master to himself. _


	5. Chapter 5 : How to be a Man

It was dawn when Ino suddenly awoke. She saw her friend started to walk away. She got up and ran to him.

"You really want to leave now?" asked Ino to one of her childhood friend, Noel. He nodded.

"Yes, Ino, I'll leave now. I'm just... way too dangerous for you," he said. "I'm afraid I won't hold back like I did before."

"But Noel..."

"I've done a very big mistake, Ino. I shouldn't let you trust me from the beginning. I'm just... not good for you, I'm too dangerous, too strong."

"But I want you to be with me..."

"Please, Ino, don't be an idiot. You knew it's dangerous to run with the dark creatures, and I'm one of them, Ino. I don't want to kill you or hurt you. You know that, right?"

"Noel... I knew..." she cried. "But I just want you to be a human again, please, be normal again..."

"I just can't, Ino, I can't..."

Suddenly, Ino held the back of his neck and kissed him.

* * *

_In his head_

_Ino, why you kissed me? Why did you do all of these things? Why you make me fall in love with you? _

_It's hard for me to understand about all of these things, these human things. I can't really feel true love anymore, but why you made my heart beat faster every time you've touched me? _

_What do you want from me, Ino? You've made me confused, so please, teach me, how to understand all of these. _

* * *

Noel pushed Ino tenderly. "I have to go now," he said.

"Why? Was it that hurt to hold yourself?"

Noel looked at Ino. He surprised by her question. "Well, yes, it was really hurt. I hate to feel that again," he said.

"Noel, sometimes you must **hurt** in order to **know**, **fall **in order to **grow**, **lose** in order to **gain** because life's greatest lessons are learned through **pain**."

"I..."

"Noel, do you love me?"

"I... do."

"Am I the most beautiful girl in the world?"

"Umm, no, I don't think so."

"Then why you love me?"

Noel can't answer her question. He don't even know why he loved Ino the most, and why she's the most precious person for him. "I don't know."

"Actually, Noel, real men **don't love the most beautiful girl** in the world. They love the girl who can make **their world the most** **beautiful**," she explained.

"Then you've made my world the most beautiful..?"

"Well, maybe."

"Oh."

"Do you want to learn about love again, Noel?"

He nodded. "Yes, I would like to."

"Then what is the risk when a man learns to love?"

"Umm, when the girl rejected them?"

"That's not entirely true. When a man **learns to love**, he must bear the **risk of hatred**."

"..."

"Noel, there's a quote that said 'I am **strong** because I know my **weakness**. I am **beautiful **because I'm aware of my **flaws**. I am **fearless **because I **learnt to recognize**, illusion from **real**. I am **wise** because I learn from my **mistakes**. I am a **lover **because I have felt **hatred**. And, I can **laugh **because I have known **sadness**'. Do you understand, Noel?"

He nodded. "I do."

"Good. Any questions?"

He thought for a few moments, then asked, "What is a hero for you, Ino?"

"A hero? Well, a hero is not the one who never falls. He is the one that **gets up**, **again and again**, **never losing sight of his dreams**," she said.

Noel sat down under a tree. 'I will never give up to protect her, no matter how hard is it, or how much pain I must face, I will protect her with my life. I will learn to love and bear the risk, I will learn from my mistakes and do the best. I will never give up to be a real man again,' he said to himself.


	6. Chapter 6 : The Seniors

"Ino?" called Shikamaru. "Are you ready?"

Ino nodded. They just started to run when the other Darkness creatures showed up. Shikamaru stood in front of Ino and Neji stood beside him. Noel, however, curled up on the ground. He had a very bad headache when he saw his "senior creature".

It was a very huge pain, and he almost can't feel his body anymore. His devil's eye activated, his fingers became knifes, his teeth became sharp and he started to grow bigger. A lot of black tattoos showed up on his skin. A huge black wings started to grow on his back.

Ino turned back and saw Noel. She screamed loudly. Shikamaru and Neji turned around and saw that too. Shikamaru freaked out and Neji just stared at Noel. They watched a very sharp, long black tail growing on Noel's.

The seniors just laughed. They seemed excited of Noel's transformation.

"Well, if it isn't our junior, Noel Shibasaki," said one of the creature. The other laughed.

"You see, ninjas, Noel is belongs to us, the Darkness. He is a monster inside, but he had a good looking when he became a human, yeah?" said the other.

Noel shut his eyes. He hated the way they made him became a monster, or his real identity in Darkness World, in front of Ino. He don't want Ino scared of him. But now, however, he thought maybe this is the best way to make Ino not trust him anymore, and when she doesn't, he won't hurt Ino that time. But that also mean that he can't protect her anymore, and he can't be sure that her two ninja friends can protect her well.

"Noel, why won't you join us now?" asked the Seniors Leader. Noel took a deep breath, and walked to the Dark creatures. Suddenly, he felt someone hugged him from the back.

"Noel, please, please, don't leave me. Please don't. I love you, I want you to protect me," cried Ino. Noel felt his heart started to ache.

"Ino, even if you love me, I'm just not the right guy for you. Besides, you love someone more, much more than you love me. And you will never be safe when I'm around," replied Noel. His tail wrapped around her waist and push her back. Noel walked into the creatures, and stare at the ninjas.

"Well, you see, ninjas, you're not strong enough to fight us. If you did, of course you will end up dead in this lonely forest. So, just let us took the girl peacefully," said the Leader. Shikamaru and Neji stepped to the front, kept protecting Ino. The dark creatures laughed, except Noel. He felt like a failure friend. He can't keep his own promises. He can't protect her when she needed him. He can't make her smile when she's sad. He can't make her happy, because every time he wanted to do that, his Dark identity made his words stopped. He just can't fight it.

He felt jealous of Shikamaru. He felt jealous of the other normal human. He hated to be one of the Dark Creatures and being immortal because of it. He can't take this anymore. He must fight it, and stopped being a monster. He will never hurt Ino, or Shikamaru. He hated to not hurt Shikamaru, but Ino love him the most. So he must protect both, and Neji too.

Noel ran to the ninjas and hold them. He flied and activated his shield protection. A black dome rounded the ninjas and Noel. Shikamaru and Neji threw the Light's Bomb, some of them were died and the others attacked Noel, then ran away.

When they already ran, Noel turned off his protection. But he lost a lot of his energy and the attack made his body injured a lot. He didn't have any energy to fly, so he just dropped himself to the ground. The ninjas started to get off of Noel's wings protection (so they won't hurt when he fell to the ground) and sat around Noel.

"He is dangerous, can't you see? I knew that he's not a normal human since the first time we met," said Shikamaru.

Neji frowned a little. 'So this is his true identity? But why did he protected us while he can join his team?' thought Neji.

Ino glared at Shikamaru, then turned around to see Noel's condition.

"Oh no, you've got a lot of injuries. I think you need some medical things..." said Ino.

"No."

"What?"

"You don't have to heal me, I'm immortal. I can heal myself in minutes," replied Noel.

"Oh..."

After Noel healed, they started to run again through the forest.


	7. Chapter 7 : Before the Battle

_Flash Back_

"_Ino..."_

"_Shika, I need them back."_

"_I will give it to you if you kiss me."_

"_Wha... that's unfair!"_

"_Then don't leave your things around. Now, kiss me or you won't have them back."_

"_Ugh... fine! You wicked lazy bum! I hate you!" _

_She kissed Shikamaru, then took her things. The next days, they started to be closer and closer until Noel came up. _

_End of Flash Back_

* * *

"Ino, be my girlfriend," said Shikamaru when the two others already asleep.

"Shikamaru, I don't know. I can't choose. I love you, yeah, but I love Noel too. You both are, great," replied Ino.

"But Ino, Noel wasn't the right guy for you. Besides, you knew me much longer than you knew Noel."

"Yeah, but..."

"Has he ever shared his problems to you back there?"

"No..."

"Have you shared your problems with him?"

"Yeah, I did... a lot."

"Did he gave you advice?"

"Yeah, and promises."

"That means he is a quiet person, he doesn't want you to know his problems."

"Or maybe it's me. Maybe I'm the one who won't listen to his problems?"

"No, you're not like that."

"Well, maybe I am before. I don't remember. Actually, I never knew his real self."

"That's the point! You can't love people who you don't really know well, right? Then choose me, since I'm available."

"I don't know Shika, I'm not sure."

* * *

"The Light creature came to Konoha, and the Dark started to go there too. We have to go there and fight," said Noel.

"How do you know about this?" asked Shikamaru.

"Ugh, it's a news in the Dark's newspaper."

"And if it was a trap for us?"

"It isn't. Look," said Neji, pointed some light far far away.

"We have to go now, but we won't reach there in time," said Ino.

"Man, you guys will reach Konoha in no time," said Noel, then started to grow his wings.

They flied to Konoha in 10 minutes. They started to help the others prepared things for the battle.

Noel sneaked into a room and wrote a message. Then he gave it to Shikamaru and told him to give it to Ino while he's already dead.

"What, when you're dead? You said you're immortal before!"

"Well, I don't know. I just feel that my time is almost up. I don't think I will keep living after this battle."

"How do you know?"

"Just my feelings. And anyway, Ino love you the most, so protect her, and I will go back down. I will never try to steal her from you, because you are precious to her. And she would be happy living with you."

Shikamaru just nodded, then went out. Suddenly, they heard a very loud explosion, and the Dark creatures showed up. The ninjas and the Light creatures walked out the village, ready to fight.

And the battle, begins...


	8. Chapter 8 : The Battle

"You will never beat us, ninjas! We're much stronger than you, and we have armies. And what do you have, ninjas? Katana?" scoffed one of the Dark creatures.

"Shut up, you filthy creatures! Let's fight!" shouted Tsunade.

Some of the Dark Creatures laughed.

"What, you think you can beat us? Don't you know why the Ball of Light are safe until now? Do you know why? That's because one of our creature protect it too! Come, come, my dear Noel," called the Master of Darkness.

Noel walked to the Master. He bowed, then said, "You gave me power, sire, and you gave me a family. I'm glad of it. But you told me lies, and you made us, the Dark Creatures, can't feel the way we felt before. You made us blind with hatred, and can't feel love. You controlled us, you tortured us with pain. I'm really sorry, but I can't stand it anymore. I will never go to the Darkness anymore."

The Master laughed hard. "What would you do, junior creature? What is it?"

"Everything, sire," replied Noel. He changed his finger into knife, and gouged his left eye out. Blood splashed out of his eye. He shut his left eye.

"No, stop it, Noel! It would hurt you!" screamed one of the creature.

"I'm really sorry, Lily, but I can't do this. I don't want to be tortured, or controlled anymore. I wanted to be free," said Noel to her.

Lily cried. "Brother, please, don't do this. Don't leave me!"

"I'm sorry Lily..."

"Noel, why you did this? Why you wanted to leave us?" asked another girl.

"I don't mean to leave you. You are my family, but I really can't stand it anymore. So..."

"Noel, please, don't do this..." cried the girl.

"Patricia, don't be blind. You are not a Dark Creature from the beginning. The Master..."

Suddenly the Master sent a huge armies that attacked the ninjas. The Light Creatures started to protect the ninjas and fight. They started to fight while Noel gouged his right eye. Blood splashed out of his right eyes, and he frowned in pain. He felt much weaker than before, and with that, he knew that he wasn't immortal anymore. He is a normal person, who can die.

He stood there, waiting for the other creature kill him. But he doesn't know that Patricia, Lily, Jack, Paul, and Marcus, his 'siblings' in his Darkness World, had gouged their eyes too. They felt a very huge pain at first, then they felt very weak. But then they started to feel love again, and they can feel alive again. They fight, but they got killed in the middle of the war.

The Dark Master sent a lot of 'dark bombs' to the Light Creatures. They kept fighting until the Light Mistress put the 'lights of sun' into the Dark Master creatures. He screamed and destructed. Hundreds of poisonous arrows fired to Ino.

Noel felt this came, so he hugged Ino and activated his shield protection. All of the arrows pierced Noel's body. When all of the arrows already pierced at Noel, he turned off the protection. He almost can't feel his body anymore, and his head became dizzy.

"Noel, don't leave me, don't!" cried Ino.

"_I'm so sorry, Ino. I can't protect you anymore. I'm sorry because I can't keep all of my promises, I just can't, but please live happily..." thought Noel. _

"Noel come back to me!" screamed Ino.

"_I've always hope that I could change into the angel that you love, and one day you would love me the way I did, but it's just a fake dream. Because you love Shikamaru the most, and you will never love me the way I did. But I understood. I loved you because you need a protector, and that's me. If I don't love you, you won't be alive until now. I'm glad you're happy Ino. I'm glad you're still safe. At least, I knew that I already done one of my promise. And that was protecting you with all of my life." _

"Noel, please! Come back!" she screamed again. She hugged his body tightly.

"_I'm glad you let me know that you love me too, Ino. I'm glad you hugged me before I die. Thank you for everything you've done for me. I appreciate it."_

Noel died in Ino's arms that day, with a little smile on his face. His body was broken, but his heart is happy.

Shikamaru hugged Ino from the back. He gave Ino Noel's letter. She opened it, and read it.


	9. Chapter 9 : The Letter and Marriage

_Dear Ino, _

_This is the story of my life. I knew you wanted to know about me more, so I wrote this for you._

_July 10__th__ 1998 I was born in London, England. _

_August 2000 I met you._

_December 2001 we became best friend. _

_June 2002 I fall in love with you, but I'm too shy to admit it. _

_September 23__rd__ 2002 I bought you a present for your birthday. _

_October 31__st__ 2002 I promised you to protect you with all of my life._

_August 14__th__ 2003 we watched the shooting star together._

_January 13__th__ 2004 I went to the park to play with my other friends and skipped classes. _

_September 27__th__ 2004 you kissed me for the first time._

_December 2004 we slept on a tree branch together._

_August 17__th__ 2005 you went to Konoha Village and became a ninja._

_August 18__th__ 2005 I joined the Dark Creatures._

_August 19__th__ 2005 I got family and siblings in the Dark World._

_March 11__th__ 2015 I met you again in Konoha. _

_March 13__th__ 2015 we ran through the forest_

_March 31__st__ 2015 I wrote this letter for you_

_Ino, I always hope that one day you will love me the way I did. I always hope I can become a true man, become normal, and I'm glad I'd became one of them. I'm glad you taught me again, I really appreciate your hard work and your brave heart to save the world from the Darkness. _

_Ino, I always love the way you treated me. I'm glad that you taught me about life's greatest lessons. _

_I always felt lonely before, but when you taught me, you gave me a light to through this world. Well, as the time changed, the world opens up. Even if darkness plugs up your world, just grip the light and run with it. One day, you will be proud of your past self. _

_Sometimes, Ino, you must understand that some people can stay in your heart, but not in your life. And you don't have to be sad about it. We're not immortal, so you don't need to be sad. _

_Ino, the last thing is you must understand that you're loved by someone not just because of your appearance, but they looked into your inner self. You must be proud of it. _

_Noel Shibasaki_

* * *

Ino cried after read the letter.

"Shikamaru, I hope that Noel still alive until now, I hope he will hug me for the last time..."

Shikamaru hugged her and said, "Ino, I understood it's hard to forget someone who gave you so much things to remember, but you can't hoping for something fake. Just go on with your life. You shouldn't live your life in the past, but live your life in the future."

A few years later, Shikamaru married Ino. Shikamaru can't forget about Noel because he's one of the bravest friend he ever had, and Ino can't forget about Noel because he's precious to her, even when he already died.


End file.
